NEW YORK – The New Year had seemingly brought the worst out of the New York Knicks. The team finished its rollercoaster 2025 with an NBA Cup Championship, which was supposed to affirm their postseason title hopes. It may have instead given way to a momentary feeling that they had proven all they needed to.
It's no surprise that the team put an end to its four-game losing streak in its first game after acknowledging its level of post-Cup comfort as an issue. Acceptance is the first step to solving a problem. The schedule brought them the Brooklyn Nets, a team forward about its desire to lose, as a reward.
It was surprising to see the Knicks reverse course so dramatically in one game. They came out energetic from the opening tip, moving the ball with pace and screening for each other with fervor. It wasn't enough for Brown. He took two timeouts in the first quarter before Nets coach Jordi Fernandez could use any of his own.
The Knicks won the opening period 38-20 and led 60-38 at halftime. They won the game 120-66, the largest margin of victory in franchise history. Head coach Mike Brown, as always, cared more about the journey than the destination.
“Obviously, we've had some struggles. And I will continue to say this, but this may not be the last time we struggle during the year. I don't know. But what it does continue to show us is that if we play the right way, the things I mentioned, it doesn't matter who's in front of us. We'll be able to find ways to get wins, but it's about the process more than anything else. Your process is right, and you'll embrace the process, good things will happen long-term for you,” Brown told reporters after Wednesday's game.
Knicks hired Mike Brown for ‘process over results' approach
New York didn't undergo an offseason coaching change because its first Eastern Conference Finals berth in 25 years was an insufficient amount of success. It was because the procedures that got them there were viewed as suboptimal. That was clearly unsatisfactory for a team with championship aspirations in an era of data and information.
Brown's dedication to maximizing his personnel is a meticulous obsession, even as the team has struggled to find its level. Even amid the losing streak, the coach has still been testing new lineup combinations. On Wednesday, the focus was falling back in love with “the little things.” The coach said he could hear a difference.
“I'd say defensively, one of the things we've been talking about with our guys is to communicate. And their communication was off the charts. Every time down the floor, something was happening defensively, I heard it from my seat. Just the guys talking, trying to help each other on that end of the floor. … Guys knew what their responsibility was on the backside because they were communicating. We had five guys on a string. So when the ball moved, we all moved, which put us in position to help on close-outs.”
The returns of Landry Shamet, Josh Hart, and Deuce McBride from injury have left Brown with all eight of his most important players simultaneously healthy. He's still tinkering. It will be difficult to fully evaluate that work until the postseason, when it can pay the dividends that got him hired.
The Knicks' next game is against the Philadelphia 76ers, who have won just three fewer games than their divisional rivals through Wednesday. If the regular season ended today, New York and Philadelphia would be positioned for a rematch of the first round of the 2024 playoffs. Brown's group needed the reset against the Nets; the 76ers' talent is a great next test.
Landry Shamet goes 6-of-6 in perfect 3-point shooting night
Shamet missed 30 games when he re-injured the shoulder that held him out for several months last season. That included the entirety of the team's NBA Cup run. The veteran returned against the Golden State Warriors, shooting 3-13 on 3-pointers in his first three games back.
On Wednesday, Shamet made up for lost time with a blaze of success from downtown. He was a perfect 6-of-6 in just 15 minutes of play, adding two assists, two steals, and a block. The performance earned him plenty of postgame praise from Brown.
“We obviously missed his pace … you can see when he goes from point A to point B, it's with force. And then when he catches, because of that movement that he does with force, and he makes quick decisions, he gets to the paint. And the defense has to react, because he's a better athlete than most people think. You know, he played point guard in college, so he does a great job of finding his teammates. He was one of the big answers to us making great passes, or great sprays, with our ball movement tonight,” the coach told the media.
Shamet is one of the team's on-court leaders with regard to grit and effort, along with Hart, McBride, and Mitchell Robinson. Suns coach Jordan Ott praised him over the weekend for his speed, which he uses to exhaust defenders over the course of games.
Karl-Anthony Towns shines despite offensive fouls
If there was one downside to the Knicks' historic victory, it was the reappearance of Karl-Anthony Towns' potentially most frustrating issue in recent years. The center has led the entire league in offensive fouls for two straight seasons, and he's on track to do it for a third.
On Wednesday, officials whistled Towns for two offensive fouls in a 45-second span. Both came on drives to the basket when they deemed that Towns initiated contact by hooking defenders' arms in an effort of entrapment. Brunson told reporters in December that the team had spoken to Towns about the fouls, telling him to “do a better job of not using his off arm.” Brown made clear after defeating the Nets that he believed in the center to figure things out. He even subtly challenged the officials, implying the calls against Towns are misinterpretations of those plays.
“KAT's a smart guy. He knows great players make adjustments. And he has and he will continue to make adjustments to his game. We want him to continue to be aggressive. And if he feels that he's getting hit before, hopefully the officials will do a better job of calling the first foul instead of the second foul, which is a lot of times human nature. But great players make adjustments, and I'm sure KAT's going to figure it out. He got called for two tonight, he hadn't been called for any in a while, and so I think good things will happen with him going forward.”
